Month: July 2016

Project 2, Post 3: Racism & the Sins of Diversity

Racism is (a) the belief that race accounts for the difference in human character and/or ability; (b) discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Prejudice is (a) dislike for people of a specific race, religion, etc.; (b) the act or state of holding preconceived beliefs/judgments/convictions without adequate information.

Discrimination is treatment or consideration based on class or category, such as race or gender, rather than based on individual merit; partiality or prejudice.

Reflection:

I decided to add a little color to the background of my painting for bit more variety in tone. As I swept my brush across the canvas leaving behind small touches of blue and brown, the word “color” blinked inside of my mind, the letters made of bright, showbiz lights. Color! Color! Color!

…….My mind then leaped right into the heavy topic of skin color.

I recently ran across the above post, by a person named Paul Noble, on Facebook. I literally gasped out loud. Few examples of present day racism are so obvious and unapologetic.

There you have it, my fellow Americans… Our society now values the wrapping paper more than the package inside! Gee…What could go wrong?

The “diversity” (or the lack there of) which is alluded to in this Facebook post is not true diversity, but is instead the new, elitist, limited form of diversity that is strictly confined to what you are on the outside; what you look like (or more specifically your skin color and what equipment you have between your legs). That ol’ saying, “Beauty is only skin deep,” has been thrown out with the bathwater. That’s right… You are now only as good as the color of your skin and your genital package.

New Diversity Definition: (Noun) (a) a tool used to bestow and to designate an individual’s or group’s value/worth based on race and sex; (b) a means by which a subgroup(s) of humans effectively shames, denigrates, and gains control over another subgroup(s); (c) a method for justifying one’s own racist inclinations toward a group of people.

Beware! This is a tool of evil! This “diversity” has no resemblance to love. Love does not seek to diminish others. Love does not keep records of wrong. Love fights against our human inclination to hate and to disparage. Love treasures one’s character, no matter the exterior. Love frees us from the weight of anger and blame, while hate wallows in it.

Make no mistake! Satan (Lucifer) is the force behind such fixations on our exteriors: after all, he was the most beautiful angel in Heaven and was enormously self-absorbed. Let’s take a moment to review exactly who Satan is so that we may more readily see his influence upon our world.

Created by God, Lucifer (meaning brightness) was one of the two angels seated beside the throne of the Heavenly Father. (Ezekiel 28:13, 15; Psalms 99:1). He is sometimes referred to as the morning star or day star. He was created perfect; glorious in splendor, beauty and wisdom. “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty… Every precious stone was your covering” (Ezekiel 28:12,13). Satan was also gifted with song. However, Lucifer allowed his beauty and pride to corrupt his wisdom for the sake of his own splendor. (Ezekiel 28:17). He sought out to exalt himself above God. Subsequently, a celestial war broke out in heaven. One-third of the Heaven’s angels joined Lucifer’s devious army. “Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in Heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole Earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:7-9).

*It was Satan’s inflated ego and obsession with his own exterior that ultimately caused his fall from grace. Now, we too are heading down the path of Lucifer into a skin-deep hell-whole where the stakes are high and the ultimate cost will be our own souls’ fall from grace.

Right now, make a decision. Will you surrender your soul to the idolatry of diversity – of judging people by their skin color or sex? Or, will you remain true to Christ, closing off your heart to the creeping hatred of Satan and his evil sin of vanity? Deep down, we all know what the right choice is. There are no gray areas here. This is a matter of right and wrong; good and evil. Choose good!

Artistic Process:

Using a broad brush and keeping it damp, I smeared blues and browns onto the canvas, being careful not to apply too much. I kept white paint and black paint on hand to blend the colors as needed.

DO YOU LOVE?

OUR WORLD NEEDS MORE LOVE!

While often read during Christian weddings, there is no mention of romance, marriage or other coupling within 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. True love is not an affection for or attraction to another person. True love is an action; something we each must do– outwardly and at all times- for all our fellow man. True love is a verb that, when practiced to the fullest extent in our power, benefits the whole of humanity.

*We all need to reflect on our own actions and motives. I created the below table so that we can all focus and dedicate ourselves to filling the world with more LOVE through our own lives!

SPTR

*Notice that in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 there is no reference to: affirmation of, agreement with, acceptance of, political affiliation – nor of race, color, gender, etc. Love is for ALL the world – no “ifs,” “ands” or “buts.” We must work to love ALL people.

You can be part of the solution or part of the problem. Which part will you play?